The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) Shares Sold by Ballew Advisors Inc

Ballew Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,501 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. Ballew Advisors Inc’s holdings in Southern were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Rockline Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the fourth quarter worth about $1,945,000. Bollard Group LLC raised its stake in Southern by 1.0% during the second quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 431,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,313,000 after purchasing an additional 4,082 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Southern by 200.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 76,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,933,000 after buying an additional 50,897 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern in the 4th quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Southern by 2.4% during the second quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,377 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,712,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. 64.10% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Southern Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:SO traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,731,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,607,858. The Southern Company has a one year low of $61.56 and a one year high of $75.80. The business’s 50-day moving average is $68.43 and its 200-day moving average is $68.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $78.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.49.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The utilities provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. Southern had a net margin of 15.79% and a return on equity of 11.40%. Southern’s revenue for the quarter was down 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4 EPS for the current year.

Southern Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 20th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 16th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Southern’s dividend payout ratio is 77.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Southern news, CEO Stephen E. Kuczynski sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.99, for a total transaction of $359,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 101,284 shares in the company, valued at $7,291,435.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Christopher Cummiskey sold 899 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.06, for a total value of $60,286.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,508,984.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 25,998 shares of company stock valued at $1,806,063. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SO has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Southern from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Southern from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Southern from $68.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Southern in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, December 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.46.

Southern Profile

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.